Stud driving tool with removable barrel



2,395,354 2/ l 946 Temple Robert Temple Pittsburgh, Pa.

Nov. 27, 1968 Dec. 22, 1970 Mine Safety Appliances Company Pittsburgh, Pa.

a corporation of Pennsylvania inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee STUD DRIVING TOOL WITH REMOVABLE BARREL 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

227/8 B27f 7/06 227/8, 9, 10, 1 l

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,479,43] 8/1949 Temple 227/9 2,804,620 9/1957 Gannon........ 227/9 3,022,513 2/1962 Temple et al. 227/8 3,065,560 1 1/1962 Bumiller 227/9X Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Attorney-Brown, Critchlow, Flick & Peckham ABSTRACT: A sleeve is pivotally mounted on a transverse axis in the front end portion of a longitudinal channel in an elongated barrel receiver. The sleeve projects from the open front end of the channel and can be tilted to swing its rear end outwardly from the channel. Slidably mounted in the sleeve is the front end portion of a barrel, the rear end of which can be swung out of the receiver when the sleeve is tilted. At the rear end of the receiver there are means for firing a cartridge in the rear end of the barrel when the barrel and sleeve are in the channel in alignment with the receiver.

SHEET 2 OF 2 Roam?" TEMPLE H TOR IVE-75 PATENTEBnEc2219m STUD DRIVING TOOL WITH REMOVABLE BARREL Shown in US. Pat. No. 3,022,513 is an explosively actuated stud-driving tool that is provided with a barrel, the rear end of which is swung up out of operative position when the tool is not in use. This has the double advantage of preventing accidental firing of the tool and making it easy to reload the tool with a new cartridge and stud. However, when the tool is used in deep water it becomes more difficult to reload because of reduced maneuverability of the diver. Also, the barrel will fill with water and that increases the recoil, which also increases with the depth of the water. Even if the front end of the barrel originally is sealed against the entrance of water, the seal will be broken as soon as the tool is fired the first time, whereupon the barrel will fill with water that will increase the recoil when the next stud is driven.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide such a tool, in which the entire barrel can quickly and easily be replaced whenever desired, in which each barrel can be sealed against the entrance of water until used, and the recoil of which is not affected by. different depths of water.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a side view, showing the barrel in its tilted inoperative position;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, with the barrel down;

FIG. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the tool in operative position and about to be fired; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross sections taken on the lines IV-IV and V-V, respectively, of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of a tool includes a heavy member that is long enough to receive the barrel of the tool. The rear end of this barrel receiver 1 is secured to the front end of a trigger housing 2, which is supported by a handle 3 of any suitable construction. The rear end of the receiver is tubular, as is also its front end. In between, one side of the receiver, preferably the top side, is open to form a longitudinal channel 4. The opposite ends of the receiveropen into this channel. Screwed onto the tubular front end of the receiver is the collar 5 of an annular shield 6 that projects in front of the receiver.

It is a feature of this invention that a sleeve 7 is disposed in the front end portion of the channel and projects from the front end of the receiver. The front end of the sleeve may be provided with an internal shoulder 8. This sleeve is pivoted in the receiver on an axis transverse to the channel. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the opposite sides of the tubular portion of the receiver encircled by collar 5 are provided with aligned radial openings 9, in which pivot pins 10 are mounted that project into openings 11 in the opposite sides of the sleeve. Each pin has a head at its outer end that engages a shoulder 12 in the opening 9 to limit inward movement of the pin so that its inner end will not project beyond the inner surface of the sleeve. The pins are retained in the openings by the encircling collar, and of course are put in place before the collar is screwed back across openings 9.

The open side of channel 4 is wide enough to permit the rear end of the sleeve to be tilted up away from the opposite side of the channel, as shown in FIG. 1. To prevent the encircling front end of the receiver from interfering with this tilting of the sleeve, the portion of the receiver above the sleeve is provided with an arcuate recess 13 that is tapered forwardly as shown in FIG. 3, while the portion below the sleeve is provided with an arcuate recess 14 that is tapered rearwardly from the front end of the receiver. The sleeve is tilted up into the first recess and down into the second. The sleeve openings 11 that receive the pivot pins are slots extending lengthwise of the sleeve so that the sleeves can slide back and forth within predetermined limits in the channel.

The front end portion of a cylindrical barrel 15 is slidably mounted in the sleeve. Behind the sleeve the barrel may be enlarged to provide it with a shoulder 16 (FIG. 2) for engaging the rear end of the sleeve and thereby limiting the distance it can be inserted in the sleeve. Preferably, the outer diameter of the sleeve and the maximum diameter of the barrel are substantially the same. To help hold the barrel in the sleeve, the front end portion of the barrel is provided with a peripheral groove, in which a friction ring 17 is mounted. When the bar- .rel is inserted in the sleeve, this ring'is compressed between the bottom of the groove and the inner surface of the sleeve and therefore offers considerable resistance to removal of the barrel.

The channel 4 in the receiver is long enough to permit the rear end of the barrel to be swung out of it when the sleeve is tilted, as shown in FIG. 1. This makes the cartridge chamber 18 (FIG. 3) in the rear end of the barrel readily accessible to the operator in case he wants to load the barrel while it is held in the sleeve. The barrel and sleeve normally are in the tilted inoperative position because the rear end of a leaf spring 19, which is disposed in a groove in the bottom of the channel, presses up against the barrel. The front end of the spring is held by a rivet 20. Of course the tool cannot be fired accidentally while the barrel is tilted.

The barrel can be swung down into the receiver, where it will be concentric therewith, by grasping the receiver and barrel in one hand and squeezing them together. When the barrel is in this inner or operative position shown in FIG. 2, it is directly in front of a breechblock 22 that engages the front end of trigger housing 2 as shown in FIG. 3. A firing pin 23 is slidably mounted in the breechblock and projects from its front end when the tool is not ready for firing, but the projecting pin-normally is spaced from the barrel even when the barrel is entirely within the receiver. The pin is held in its forward position by a spring-pressed hammer 24 engaging its rear end, the hammer being slidably mounted in the housing as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,513. The hammer can be retracted and released by any suitable manually operated means, such as a trigger 25 projecting from the housing.

Mounted in the cartridge chamber of the barrel is an explosive cartridge 27, to the front end of which the rear end of a stud 28 is attached. Encircling the rear end of the stud is a sealing ring 29 that is compressed between it and the sur rounding wall of the barrel so that no water can get past that point even if it passes the cartridge, which it may not be able to do unless the tool is used at a considerable depth where the pressure is great. As shown in FIG. 2, the front end of the barrel is sealed by a diaphragm 30 which preferably is encircled by a peripheral groove containing a sealing ring 31 compressed against the inside of the barrel. The barrel is loaded outside of the water and therefore the space inside the barrel is filled with air and no water can enter it until after the seal has been ruptured by the stud.

. To operate this tool, the barrel is pressed down into the receiver and held there while the muzzle is placed against the object 33, into which the stud is to be driven. The tool handle then is pushed ahead to slide receiver 1 forward on the barrel and sleeve until the breechblock engages the cartridge, as shown in FIG. 3. By that time the upper part of the back of the receiver will have moved a short distance over the rear end of the barrel, which thereby will become locked in the receiver concentrically therewith. During forward movement of the receiver the firing pin engages the primer of the cartridge and stops as the breechblock moves on forward into engagement with the cartridge, whereby hammer 24 is pushed back slightly. The tool now is ready to be fired, which is done by pulling back the trigger in order first to retract the hammer and then to release it. When the spring-pressed hammer is driven forward against the firing pin, the latter is moved forward in the breechblock and detonates the cartridge to drive the stud forward out of the barrel and into the work.

The moment forward pressure on the tool handle is released by the operator, the barrel and sleeve are supposed to move forward in the receiver so that leaf spring 19 can swing the rear end of the barrel up out of channel 4 to inoperative position. The barrel is pushed forward to release it for this tilting by means of a coil spring 35 behind it. As shown in FIG. 3, this spring encircles the breechblock inside of a cuplike ejector 36 slidably mounted in the rear end of the receiver. The ejector is 'urged forward by the spring, but its forward movement is limited by a pin 37 extending through the bottom of the 'receiverand into a longitudinal groove 38 in the bottom of the 'ejector. The front position of the ejector, as shown in FIGS. 1

and 2, is such as to substantially engages the rear end of the barrel when it is swung down into the receiver, but not such as to prevent the barrel from being swung down. The front wall of the ejector has a central opening to receive the front end of the breechblock when the receiver is pushed forward around the ejector and barrel in preparing the tool for firing.

Instead of removingthe spent cartridge from the barrel under water and reloading there, the entire barrel can be recoil, especially at considerable depths, is avoided. Out of the water, there may be less reason to change barrels, in which case the barrel in the tool can be reloaded without removing It.

Removal of the cartridge from the barrel is facilitated by a cartridge ejector, which includes a sleeve 40 encircling the rear end portion of the barrel in an annular recess and having an inwardly extending rear end flange 41 that engages the front surface of the upper half of the cartridge flange. Secured to the top of sleeve 40 is a knob that is held in place by a stud 43, which projects into a longitudinal slot 44 in the top of the barrel to prevent the sleeve from rotating on the barrel. The slide is moved backward by its knob to cause flange 41 to push the cartridge part way out of the cartridge chamber so that it can be grasped by the fingers and removed the rest of the way.

lclaim:

l. A stud-driving tool comprising an elongated barrel -receiver having a longitudinal channel therein with an open front end, a sleeve. disposed in the front end portion of the channel and projecting therefrom, means pivoting the sleeve in said receiver on an axis transverse to the channel, the open side of the channel being wide enough to permit the rear end of the sleeve to be tilted outwardly away from the opposite side of the channel, a barrel having a front end portion slidably mounted in the sleeve with the rest of the barrel extending rearwardly therefrom, the rear end of the barrel being swung out of said receiver when the sleeve is tilted and being provided with a cartridge-receiving chamber, and means connected with the rear end of the receiver for firing a cartridge in said chamber when the barrel and sleeve are in said channel in alignment with the receiver.

2. A stud-driving tool according to claim 1, including a friction ring, said barrel being provided inside said sleeve with a peripheral groove, and said ring being mounted in said groove and frictionally engaging the inner surface of the sleeve.

3. A stud-driving tool according to claim 1, including a cartridge mounted in said cartridge chamber, a stud carried by.

the front end of the cartridge, and a rupturable diaphragm sealed in the front end of the barrel, whereby the tool can be used under water without water entering the barrel before the diaphragm is ruptured by the stud.

4. Astud-driving tool according to claim 3, including a sealing ring encircling the rear end of the stud and compressed between it and the surrounding wall of the barrel.

5. A stud-driving tool according to claim 3, including a sealing ring, said diaphragm being encircled by a groove, and said ring being mounted in said groove and compressed between the inner wall of the barrel and the base of the groove.

6. A stud-driving tool according to claim 5, including a sealing ring encircling the rear end of the stud and compressed between it and the surrounding wall of the barrel.

7. A stud-driving tool according to claim 1, in which said pivoting means is apair of aligned pins mounted in the barrel receiver and said sleeve is provided with a pair of longitudinal slots m its sidewall receiving the pins, whereby the sleeve 15 capable of limited longitudinal movement in the receiver.

8. A stud-driving tool according to claim 1, in which said pivoting means is a pair of headed pins, said receiver is provided with aligned radial openings containing said pins, each of said openings has an outwardly facing shoulder therein engageable by the head of the pin therein, and said sleeve is provided with radial openings receiving the inner ends of the pins, and said tool including a ring mounted on the front end of the receiver and overlying said receiver openings to hold the pins therein. 

